Hello- Can anyone comment on the claim by many people that assessment is only 5-7% of the project for utilities?

Does anyone know how long utilites need for testing? Is the 40-70% claim an accurate guesstimate for this industry? Does it differ by type of generating plant?

Is it likely that all phases are being worked on at the same time, negating the assumption that since assessment/remediation is not done, testing has not started...?

Thanks- R.A. Mann

-- R.A. Mann (ramann@hotmail.com), January 13, 1999

Answers

I am not at an electric utility but I have been on the management side of two Y2k projects. The one I am on now started in 1996. We didn't even start Remediation until May of 1998. Up until then we were doing Inventory and Analysis.

Anyone that thinks Inventory and Analysis is only 5-7% of a project is doomed for failure.

On the project I am on, Complete testing of an application will take about 6 weeks or more. We have several teams who are working on multiple testing projects concerrently. Our FDT project will take about 5 months to complete for MVS.

MB

-- Matthew Bonner (Bonnermc@hotmail.com), January 14, 1999.

I have done a lot of corporate conversion work and my personal estimate is around 10-20% for good,thorough assessment of complex systems. I have stated that before in other forums and have usually been flamed for the opinion. Few of the code monsters out there ever wonder why big projects are virtually always late and overbudget. The usual exuse is that management "added" to the specs. (And that is sometimes true.) However, the principal reason is that the project was never well understood to begin with. This results in multiple "reassessments" as the code is being formed/changed. Now please note that I am saying a complete assessment takes much longer than the 1 - 3% often quoted by Milne/North et al. The typical industry assessment is usually 1 - 5%. Y2K is classic in its underestimation (re:under assessment). Ever hear the saying measure twice cut once? Most IT shops would rather guess than measure.

-- RD. ->H (drherr@erols.com), January 14, 1999.

R.D. -

Aren't the Y2K percentages that North and co. so often quote based on that California White Paper on Y2K remediation? If we criticize any source for inaccuracy, that's probably be the place to start. Also explains why the Golden State is losing some of its luster as 01/01/2000 approacheth.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.com), January 15, 1999.

I believe that one source (or at least the first that I saw) was the Sunset Research Group as follows:

Awareness: 1%, Inventory: 1%, Assessment: 5%, Renovation: 20% - 40%, Testing: 40% - 70%, Implementation: 2% - 5%

Note: The stages are for both overall time and money. FWIW, Based on my experiences as a project manager, and programmer, I would say that, just as with requirements, if the earlier stages are not performed properly, you go back and spend more time and money re-doing them.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), January 15, 1999.